Which to use
“vais” is a verb and “vil” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #7,934
- “vais” frequency rank
- #14,253
- “vil” frequency rank
- 22187
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | vais | vil |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Segunda persona del plural (vosotros, vosotras) del presente de indicativo de ir o de irse. | De poco valor. |
Where the eye mixes vais and vil
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses vais with vil
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: vais is [ˈbajs] while vil is [ˈbil]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 22187, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
vais is recorded at frequency rank #7,934, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈbajs]. vil is at rank #14,253, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈbil].
Glosses for this pair are partially populated in our dataset, but the full side-by-side definitions above should still guide you to the right choice.
With a confusion score of 22187, this pair ranks #251,520 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of vais vs vil
Shared letters: iv. Private to "vais": as. Private to "vil": l.
"vais" · 4 letters · shape CVVC · "vil" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- vais ← bais · vaiss · vasi · vvais
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "vais" for "vil" ever safe?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "vais" or "vil" show up more?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "vais" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "vil" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #251,520 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "vais" and "vil" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "vil vs VOR". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #251,520 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.